Posts filed under ‘Sexism’

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho lawmaker received a brief lesson on female anatomy after asking if a woman can swallow a small camera for doctors to conduct a remote gynecological exam.

The question Monday from Republican Rep. Vito Barbieri came as the House State Affairs Committee heard nearly three hours of testimony on a bill that would ban doctors from prescribing abortion-inducing medication through telemedicine.

Dr. Julie Madsen was testifying in opposition to the bill when Barbieri asked the question. Madsen replied that would be impossible because swallowed pills do not end up in the vagina.

Per his Wikipedia page, Mr. Barbieri is 63-years-old, he’s married and he has a law degree but somehow, despite all those years of life and all that education, he missed the fact that what a woman swallows doesn’t end up in, or go through, her vagina.

The first Russian female cosmonaut to visit the International Space Station criticised journalists for focusing on her hair and appearance during a pre-launch news conference.

Elena Serova became the fourth woman in Russia to enter space when she joined the mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday. She has spent seven years training for the flight.

But during a conference with two of her male colleagues ahead of the launch, the 38-year-old was forced to refocus questions from the press, who appeared more interested in how she would wash her hair in space and continue her relationship with her daughter while in space.

The BBC reports that after initially humouring reporters, she responded to one who asked her how she would maintain her hair style in space with: “Can I ask a question – aren’t you interested in the hair styles of my colleagues?”

ICYMI, this is what four-times married Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show yesterday about defining what constitutes consensual sex between college students:

It’s Monday and Rush Limbaugh is talking about what constitutes consensual sex between college students. The conservative radio host kicked off the week with a look at Ohio State’s new policy on consent, lamenting the fact that it “takes all the romance out of everything.”

“Seduction used to be an art,” Limbaugh explained to his listeners. “Now of course it’s brutish and it’s predatory and it’s bad.” After reading off Ohio State’s definition of consent, in which students must “agree on why” they are having sex and must be sober when they do it, Limbaugh arrived at this line: “The absence of ‘no’ does not mean ‘yes.’”

This one seemed a bridge too far for the host. “How many of you guys, in your own experience with women, have learned that ‘no’ means ‘yes,’ if you know how to spot it?” he asked.

Geezus. Do the NFL and the Carolina Panthers really think this makes them look good somehow? They didn’t suspend Panthers’ defensive end Greg Hardy immediately after he was convicted, yes, convicted (in July), of choking and threatening to kill his girlfriend? They waited until today, under pressure because of the Ray Rice fiasco and only hours after the coach said he was fine with him playing? Because supposedly they don’t tolerate such behavior? Really?

Greg Hardy, the Carolina Panthers defensive end who earned a jury conviction in July for choking and threatening to kill his then-girlfriend, has been deactivated by his team ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Lions.

[…]

Hours before the decision was announced, head coach Ron Rivera said he was comfortable with Hardy playing, reports CBSSports.com’s Ryan Wilson.

Despite his conviction, Hardy was never suspended by the NFL, but the league did take the time to let him know that his face paint violated the league’s uniform code.

The NFL looks like a bunch of kids walking backward on a beach swishing their hands on the sand trying to cover up their footprints. They really don’t care if their players beat the shit out of their wives and/or girlfriends.

Remember that we’ve-got-to-reinvent-ourselves post-12012 election evaluation GOP Chairman Reince Priebus was screaming about early last year?

“The way we communicate our principles isn’t resonating widely enough,” he said. “Focus groups described our party as ‘narrow-minded,’ ‘out of touch,’ and ‘stuffy old men.’ The perception that we’re the party of the rich continues to grow.”

[…]

The party will make a concerted effort to elevate more women, Priebus said. He suggested that some “biologically stupid” remarks by Republican candidates turned off women voters. Female surrogates should be elevated, the report says, and women must be promoted within the RNC and included in messaging discussions ” to represent some of the unique concerns that female voters may have.”

Democrat Michelle Nunn has a sizeable lead over Republican David Perdue in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, a new poll found, thanks in large part to a huge gender gap.

[…]

Nunn has 47 percent in the new WSB-TV Channel 2/Landmark Communications poll, while Perdue has 40 percent. The big reason: The gender gap.

[…]

“There’s a widening or stagnant gender gap. Mr. Perdue does not seem to be moving or closing his number,” said Channel 2 analyst Bill Crane in a story posted on the WSB site. “He’s about 20 points behind Michelle Nunn in females.

I feel a little hesitant putting this video up because in doing so I’m posting an advertisement for “Always” feminine products but I’ve got to say, it makes a great point. I know I absorbed the “throw like a girl” message as a kid so I applaud the younger ladies in this video who haven’t been brainwashed along those lines yet. Don’t let it happen. Ever!

Using #LikeAGirl as an insult is a hard knock against any adolescent girl. And since the rest of puberty’s really no picnic either, it’s easy to see what a huge impact it can have on a girl’s self-confidence.
We’re kicking off an epic battle to make sure that girls everywhere keep their confidence throughout puberty and beyond, and making a start by showing them that doing it #LikeAGirl is an awesome thing.